Reenforcement for mats



June 11, 1935. O. w JACKSQN 2,004,204

REENFORCEMENT FOR MATS Filed April 24, 1934 ATTORNEYS Patented June 11, 1935 I UNlTED STATES PATENT OFFICE p REENFORCEMENT FOR MATS 7 Oscar W. Jackson, Rockville Centre, N. Y.

Application April 24, 1934, Serial No. 722,143

3-Claiins. (01.154 49) My present invention provides a reeniorcement for mats. especially those used in public places which are subjected to more or less constant wear, whereby the ends or other portions which by reason of the wear to which they aresubjected have a tendency to curl upward, will 'be pro-- tected and held in a flat position, the reen'forcementat the same time reducing the efiect of the increased thickness thus formed as an impediment to the feet of persons approaching the mat.

The objects of my invention are accomplished by the use of two plates arranged on the opposite faces of the end or edge of a mat, which plates are secured together in such a position that their outer edges extend beyond the mat and are brought into meeting engagement in such a way that one acts to strengthen the other and a gradual incline to the floor plane is provided.

To these and other ends my invention consists in further improvements and combination of parts all as will be fully described hereinafter, the novel features being set forth in the appended claims.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the end of a mat provided with a reenforcement embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing one method of forming the reenforcing plates.

Figs. 3 and 4 are similar views of modification;

, and

Fig. 5 is a detail showing the manner of interconnecting the meeting edges of the plates and interlocking their opposite edges with the upper and lower faces of the mat.

Similar reference characters indicate similar parts.

It is recognized that in the use of mats, used in public places that, irrespective of the material of which the mat is composed, when the material is light enough to permit it to be rolled when not in use it has a tendency to curl upward come any normal tendency of the material to curl and cause it to hug the floor. One of these plates, indicated by a, I term the bottom plate and place it beneath the under surface of the mat, indicated by b, 'insuch aposition that a por- =5 c is preferably of less width and positioned on the upper face of the mat withits rear edge ahead of the corresponding edge of the lower plate a and its outer portion also "extending a substantial distance beyond the end of the mat b and bent or curved downwardly to "meetthe forward edge of plate a. In this way the two meeting edges of the plates serve to strengthen each other. The downward inclination of the outer portion of the top plate forms an inclined plane extending upward from the floor level and greatly lessens the possibility of a persons foot tripping on the enlarged thickness of the mat as well as facilitates the passage onto the mat of vehicle wheels or the castors of a movable rack, or the like.

The two plates are secured together and to the mat by rivets d, the lower headsof which are countersunk in the bottom plate a so that the latter will engage thefioor throughout its length and breadth. v

In practice the upper plate is bent in the shape shown before being applied to the mat and the inclined portion is preferably caused to overlap, or extend beyond, the edge of the lower plate. If desired these two edges of the plates may be interlocked in any suitable manner as by joining themby spot welding or by providing them with cooperating notches and tongues, as indicated at e, in Figure 5. i i

In Fig. 3, I have shown a modification in which the outer portion of the top plate 0 is rounded to accomplish the result obtained by the bevel or incline shown in Fig. 2, and in Fig. 4 I have shown the same feature with the extremity of the upper plate c resting upon the upper surface of bottom plate a. In either of these forms the inter-locking of the meeting edges of the plates, as before described, may be employed.

By mounting the plates as shown so that the rear or inner edgeoi the bottom plate extends inwardly beyond that of the upper plate, it is impossible by the application of pressure at this from the floor, to apply a leverage which is sumcient to cause the reenforcement to be rocked in such a manner as to cause its outer edge to be lifted from its point of engagement with the floor.

I provide the plates in the various arrangements shown with an additional improvement by forming upon the rear edge of each plate means for causing them to firmly grip the contiguous face of the mat. These gripping edges may be formed by indenting the edges of the plates toform slight embossments or, as illustrated in Fig. 5, more pronounced gripping means may be employed by bending the inner edge portions of the plates and serrating these portions. The exact character of the embossments or teeth, as well as their arrangement, are dependent upon the thickness and character of the matting employed. For instance with rubber matting, especially with the thinner grades, the indentures should not be too pronounced in height or spaced too closely together, nor should those on one plate be directly opposite those on the other plate. However, the importance of this latter requirement is somewhat lessened when the rear edges of the plates are not in vertical alinement, but are point of the upper plate, by reason of its distance metal which may conveniently be worked so that a single U-shaped piece may be used.

I claim:

1. An edging for mats comprising bottom and top plates respectively secured on the lower and upper surfacesof a mat at an end thereof, both of said plates having outer portions extending a substantial distance beyond said mat end and the outer portion of the top plate being bent downwardly to meet the outer edge of the bottom plate to provide an inclined approach extending from the floor level.

2. An edging for mats comprising bottom and top plates respectively secured on the lower and upper surfaces of a mat at an end thereof, both of said plates having outer portions extending a substantial distance beyond said mat end and the outer portion of the top plate being bent downwardly to meet the outer edge of the bottom plate to provide an inclined approach extending from the floor level, the bottom plate being of greater width than the top plate to extend inwardly beyond the inner edge of the top plate to prevent the edging being rocked out of engagement with the floor.

3. An edging for mats comprising bottom and top plates respectively secured on the lower and upper surfaces of a mat at an end thereof, both of .said plates having outer portions extending a substantial distance beyond said mat end and the outer portion of the top plate being bent downwardly to meet the outer edge of the bottom plate to provide an inclined approach extending from the floor level, the outer meeting edges of said plates having means formed thereon for securing them to one another.

OSCAR W. JACKSON. 

